New Westminster, BC – The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has recognized the City of New Westminster’s Westminster Pier Park construction project with a Sustainable Communities Award in the Brownfield category. The award was accepted on the City’s behalf by New Westminster Councillor and representative at FCM Lorrie Williams and Jim Lowrie, Director of Engineering, at a ceremony in Ottawa today.

“To say we’re proud that the Westminster Pier Park construction project has won this award would be an understatement,” said Councillor Williams. “We’re ecstatic that all of the hard work put into transforming a derelict site on our historic waterfront into a public amenity for everyone’s enjoyment has been recognized nationally as a success.”

The 2012 FCM Sustainable Community Awards recognizes municipal projects that “demonstrate excellence in environmental responsibility” and are presented in the following categories: Brownfields, Buildings, Energy, Integrated Neighbourhood Development, Planning, Residential Development, Transportation, Waste and Water. Westminster Pier Park won in the Brownfield category where eligible initiatives include municipal-led programs that have succeeded in creating incentives for the remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites, and brownfield projects that demonstrate leadership in soil remediation and redevelopment based on sustainability practices. A video on the award-winning Westminster Pier Park project can be found on the FCM website.

“This project has been embraced by the community since public consultation and planning activity got underway nearly three years ago and this award further validates all of those efforts,” said Wright. “Just as important, the FCM award underscores the City of New Westminster’s commitment to sustainability and recognizes Westminster Pier Park as a tremendous asset for our community, both now and for future generations.

The Westminster Pier Park construction project was launched in 2009, following purchase of a brownfield property located along the Royal City’s waterfront by the City of New Westminster. At a cost of $25.1 million, the project has been made possible through generous financial contributions from the federal and provincial governments, which provided two-thirds ($16.6 million) of the project funding through the Build Canada Fund. Westminster Pier Park will open to the public this spring.